READY.....SET..... GO!!!!!!!!!!!

Doesn't sound too good P.

I'm glad you're sticking to your guns. I give up coz I can't be bothered fighting with them all the time. 'Them' meaning tradies, builders, SS, installers, deliverers, scaffolders etc etc.

Holding back payment is an excellent idea. Nothing motivates problem solving like the magic word payment .

Hi Phoenix, sorry to hear about your tales of woe. I know we had a few problems with things when we moved in also; mainly appliances, and spa pump, not structural thank goodness, but it is frustrating.

I cannot believe that the flooring contractors could be so rough, that is inexcusable, I hope you get all the damage fixed plus compensated for the stress.

Glad to hear the house is becoming a home!

Hi Phoenix,

I'm a new poster but I have been following your build with interest because it has been travelling along at around about the same pace as my own new house. We are just about to have handover and my fingers are crossed that we don't have some of the problems you have encountered. You poor thing! Moving is stressful enough without the added grief!

Anyway I was excited to see your update and am anxiously awaiting (along with everyone else) some photo's.

Good luck with sorting everything out!

Hey everyone!!!

Yes.....it has been some time since i posted here last, lots of things have happened, good and bad, but it's ok, cause i'm on some medication now and everything is cooooooooooool!!!!!!!!!!! LOL (Only joking)

Anyway, i have a largeish post for you, this will be my 3rd attempt and posting it...as it takes so long to do and upload the pics, i end up being timed out....tried last night and i was up to the last pic and it timed out and i lost it. I nearly threw the PC let me tell you!!

So anyway, the update.......here goes!:

The day before move-in which was Thursday the 10th of July, we had our Construction Mgr, Site Supervisor, Handover Mgr and Handover Supervisor on-site to deal with a blocked pipe. Two flushes of the toilet and we were in trouble….Water backing up everywhere!!! Our C/M nearly went A over T at one stage walking across our alfresco area as there was so much mud….looked funny but clearly wasn’t at the time…The Handover Mgr tunred up in dress shows, i did feel sorry for him, he ended up having to throw them away before he got back into his car to go...They were too wet and muddy to use again....He went out and bought a pair of workboots the next day to make sure that doesn't happen again...It was funny though....
Our alfresco and backyward where a total mess, and the rain that week didn't help either. The alfresco was cleaned again by the builder so is now useable again. Anyway, here are some pics….

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7110787.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7110789.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7110788-1.jpg

Finally that issue was resolved and we or I should say, OUR PIPES were given the all clear. They checked them with a camera and some sort of grinding device all the way back through the house and to the street and back the otherway to the South East Water Branch connection….so all is good…NOW. But it was blocked with building debris.



THEN…..we move in on the Friday….and Saturday we start to see water slowly dribbling down our wall next to the fridge in the kitchen, adjacent to the hallway…..hmmmm.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7110807.jpg

Called the Warranty dept….someone came out on the Monday to have a look and it was determined that the flue for the ducted heater was not flashed correctly or had been moved so was letting water in with the big rains we had that weekend. Ok, so it was rectified and we needed to let it dry out….But then we start seeing water coming through the plaster ceiling in the kitchen, same area between the fridge and the island bench.

Another call to the Warranty department and by this time, I’ve becoming really friendly with our maintenance team…. So we had it checked out and it seems that the drainage pipework for the ducted heater has been “dislodged” and the water is draining out of the heater and onto the ply board underneath the unit, then under that and onto the insulation batts (which were soaked) and eventually the plaster! This is what it looked like:

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7140838.jpg



Then a few days later we had more leaks in the kitchen ceiling….Ian went up into the ceiling and took some pics and it seems that the quick fix of the dislodged pipework was to tape it up and put a brick underneath to hold it in place, prop the heating unit up on a piece of timber that was just laying around…What crap….Now the unit was not draining as it should as it was tiling the wrong way, and the draingage pipes were not flowing away from the unit. Therefore the water was just sitting there and we found another T- piece of pipework that had been dislodged and was causing another leak onto the ceiling in the kitchen…..So i made the call again at 9.00am to the Warranty Dept and this time I requested that the Mgr of the Heating install co. (Dandy Air) come out and assess the damage and cause for himself as well as the Handover Supervisor or Mgr….i didn’t care how many people came out, just fix it!!!! How many issues can one heater install have, seriously??? They installed the damn thing, so come out and have a look at the work and fix it once and for all!!!! Not just do a patch job and muck up something else while you’re up there!!!

Anyway, by 12.00pm the same day we had the Handover Supervisor and the Mgr from Dandy Air on-site with one of his technicians to inspect and rectify the problems…..Not acceptable guys….just fix it properly, they eventually did and I must say that the repair job was excellent and you wouldn’t notice that there was any damage…But we are keeping the photos on file just in case!



Oh and in regards to the *** issues i will raise them in another thread as that is still happening...and yes i'm still holding payment!!!



So anyway after a very stressful first week….we could actually start to relax to some degree and start doing what we needed to do. Here are some pics of what we’ve done so far…..



Some pics for you:

Front entry looking towards back of house:

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Another hall table (matching the one in the front entry):
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7120833.jpg

Family room:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7120817.jpg

(we had some friends come over the the kids just chilled watching tv)

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7120811.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7120819.jpg



Oh Bubaloo, these are your glass tables that i bought from you on ebay! I hope i have done you proud??

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P8051020.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P8051019.jpg


Meals/Dining area (without chandelier):

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7120818.jpg


Ta da!!! All installed!!!

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7230909.jpg


Master B/R:

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7190892.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7190890.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7180883.jpg

WIR (bear with me its a work in progress!):
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7180881.jpg

Our 11yo Nathan's room:

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P8050998.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P8051000.jpg


Our 4yo Matthew's room:
(Yes he is a Ferrari Fan! )
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P8050991.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P8050993.jpg

I need to look at more artwork for thier walls. For little Matt's room i have a F1 Ferrari Flag that needs to go up...Have also seen a large Ferrari canvas that would look great in there. In Nathan's room, i've been working on some canvas prints myself for him...with his approval of course!



Our, or should i say MY study:

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P8051017.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P8051011.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P8051006.jpg


And finally we have had our driveway done, we chose a custom blend exposed agg mix....It was 85% 7mm black stone and 15% brown quartz on a TCM Storm Grey concrete base colour. It was laid last week, has now been sealed and saw cut and looks great! Hoping to drive on it this weekend...although the garage is still full so not sure if that will eventuate...

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P7310979.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P8061022.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/matthewnathan/P8061021.jpg

Anyway thats the updates for now, can install the letterbox hopefully tonight...decking will need to commence soon, at least for the porch area.

Still sourcing plenty of things from ebay...new rug on its way and some other little things....

ADSL connected, i'm in the process of setting up a wireless network at home which the kids are really excited about...means they can have internet access in their rooms!! Or on their PSP's!!!
Hey but as long as everyone is happy!!! Riiiiiiight????

Hope everyone enjoys!

HI P, glad you all OK,

What a ride you have had....


LOVE the chandelier in the dining room!

Nathan's doona cover is very nice.

Your driveway is very complementary.

Sorry to hear about the leaks, will it do long term damage to the plaster??


You look very settled in your new home. Well done!

Wow...Nik
Very stunning with attention to detail just love your decor
I just loveee..... your house
can u post some pics of the kitchen as well........please
We are also thinking of building with H................initial stage

keep the pics coming...........enjoyed reading your blog

Looks great P, Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!
I bet you are so glad to have your own space back again!!!
Love the photos, you have shopped well!!!

Thanks so much guys!

TDL, yes some of the stuff in the WIR is from IKEA...so is the study benchtop, it is actually from their kitchen range. It is a dark brown/black laminate with the S/S sides, the underside is a limed sort of laminate finish, but you dont see it. The bench is 2.35m long and is really heavy!!!! The bookshelf is 60cm wide. We pre-planned it and put in some extra noggins to carry the weight. It is wall mounted on l shaped strips that were screwed into the walls as well as into the IKEA bookshelf in the corner. Do you want up close pics? I can arrange if you want?

Its funny a lot of the decor from the old hasn't come with us here....Most of what you see is new, either ebay or purchases i've made over the past year... I always wanted our colour scheme to be fairly neutral....but with highlights of choclate, black and silver... The artwork in the study, i am thinking about re-painting it with some accents in those colours and will get around to doing that soon enough....

Kiwi, in regards to sleeping, i am absolutely amazed at how quiet and peaceful it is here at night....Not a sound....It is very very nice to sleep in your own space......before we were up when the parents went to work and its great to be able to have a sleep in...Or when the kids go into their playroom and you can't hear anything!!! (soundproofed! )

We are finally getting into the swing of enjoying ourselves, but only had the one chance to open up a bottle of wine.....*sigh*


But i'm working towards any excuse for that!!!

I'll arrange some more pics soon.

Thanks for the offer maybe later when you're not quite so busy, need to go down there later in the week....I'll have a sniff around....but it's given me ideas....Ta!